All right, Oakdalians, who remembers creepy Dr. Kreeger and how Damian managed to convince Lily that his camp was a place for “confused” teens? Who would like to forget Dr. Kreeger? Who wishes Dr. Kreeger and his ilk would shrivel up and go hide in a dark hole somewhere cold, dark, and unpleasant?

Well, the Dr. Kreegers of the world may not be shriveling up, but the world is one step closer to being free of “reprogramming” programs thanks to a judge in New Jersey:

“This ruling is monumental and devastating to the conversion-therapy industry,” said David Dinielli, Deputy Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is a party to the suit. “For the first time, a court has ruled that it is fraudulent as a matter of law for conversion therapists to tell clients that they have a mental disorder that can be cured. This is the principal lie the conversion-therapy industry uses throughout the country to peddle its quackery to vulnerable clients. Gay people don’t need to be cured, and we are thrilled that the court has recognized this.”

“It is a misrepresentation in violation of the CFA [Consumer Fraud Act], in advertising or selling conversion-therapy services, to describe homosexuality, not as being a normal variation of human sexuality, but as being a mental illness, disease, disorder, or equivalent thereof.”

“It is a misrepresentation in violation of the CFA, in advertising or selling conversion-therapy services, to include specific ‘success’ statistics when there is no factual basis for calculating such statistics, e.g., when client outcomes are not tracked and no records of client outcomes are maintained.”

“The judge’s determination today that it is a misrepresentation to tell consumers that homosexuality is a disorder is an important step forward in this case and also a victory for showing that conversion-therapy proponents lack any valid basis to continue to promote their abusive practices,” said James L. Bromley, a Partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, one of the plaintiffs’ co-counsels. “The harmful myth that gay people are sick or damaged belongs in the dustbin of history.”

Hi everyone. I saw this headline in my inbox today and had to break my radio silence to update given how core this issue was to Luke and Reid’s story.

There is a headline in today’s DiversityInc.com noting:

More than 60 politicians and LGBT advocates are fighting to revise a very dated federal regulation that disqualifies gay men from donating organs and blood simply because of their orientation….

Currently, gay men face severe restrictions when it comes to donating organs, tissue or blood.

They are allowed to donate certain organs after HIV testing, but the transplant program is notified that the organ comes from a deceased man who had sex with other men in the past year.

They are allowed to donate tissue only if they have not had sex with other men for five years.

They are never allowed to donate blood.

In contrast, a straight man who admits to having sex with a prostitute or knowingly had sex with an HIV-positive woman only has to wait one year before being allowed to donate blood….

This policy was first put in place in the 1980s, at the height of the AIDS crisis. More than 30 years later, huge strides have been made in science and medicine, and it is common knowledge that anyone who has unprotected sex is at risk, not just gay men.”

I’m hoping people are still reading LuRe fics as I found dozens of mostly-written chapters in my notes that just haven’t come to the right spot in the timeline. This is, unfortunately, a bit of a transitional chapter, but Luke is heading home in about 2, so things should get more interesting.

Yes! An update! Sorry not to have been able to post more updates lately, but RL is out of control so I haven’t had much time for fandom stuff (didn’t even get a chance to report on the release of Silent House, the cancellation of I Hate My Teenage Daughter), and Left Loosey Right Tighty’s festival premiere.

AfterElton’.com’s 2012 edition of their Hot 100 is out and nearly two years after the demise of As the World Turns, and Van Hansis and Eric Sheffer Stevens still make the cut.

Eric rings in at #81, represented by one of his FOX press junket photos. And Van is #72 with his Facebook profile pic from sometime back in 2010.

In the meantime, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer are #1 and 2 (again) and Y&R’s Shemar Moore is smokin’ at #74.

Among the predictable results (Blaine Anderson #1, Kurt Hummel #2) plus obviously great characters from across the spectrum of (Willow Rosenberg, Mary Richards, Dana Scully, Lucy), not to mention some amusing selections (Golden Girls, Will and Grace’s Jack McFarland at #49 and Karen Walker at #4, Jamie Sommers – but not Wonder Woman), and one of my personal favorites, Jean-Luc Picard.

Plus there was one interesting at #38 was Burt Hummel, Kurt’s understanding dad. How much does it say that a loving parent who unconditionally accepts his child is such a standout? Shouldn’t this be the norm? Well, maybe only in my dreams and wishes…

But onto the LuRe news: BOTH Luke and Reid made the top 50 (of all time!) which just reinforces what an impression they made. Finishing in the higher position (not surprisingly given his longer run and dual fan base) was:

[On Air: 2005-2010] The template for creating a successful gay male soap character, Luke Snyder wasn’t on the periphery, he was a part of the core family of As The World Turns. In addition to the usual soap teen problems (alcoholism, paternity issues, parental strife, deadly kidney infection), he also had to deal with coming-out issues, including bullying, blackmail, and attempted "re-orientation camp" abduction. In other words, he was a classic soap opera character.

The drama extended to his love life, which included daytime’s first guy/guy romantic kiss, as well as kisses that were … less successful. And he had three great loves in his life: A sensitive barista, a cranky doctor … and striped shirts.

Lots of striped shirts.

But making a more than respectable showing was our favorite crotchety neurosurgeon:

[On Air: 2010] Luke Snyder‘s second love began on a strong note … of hatred. Feeling guilty for the blinding of his boyfriend Noah, Luke called on the services of brilliant neurosurgeon Reid Oliver, using blackmail to entice the arrogant doctor to save Noah’s eyesight.

After the successful surgery, Luke and Reid found themselves drawn together, and after "Nuke" decided to split, "LuRe" became the show’s gay supercouple, albeit briefly.

Reid instantly captured the attention of viewers, who loved his combination of sarcasm, wit, aloofness, and ginger hotness. As gruff as he seemed, Reid’s heart was always in the right place. Well, until it was transplanted into the body of of a shaved baboon.

(Oh yeah, and Noah Mayer makes an appearance at #26, but not either half of Kish). Given the competition these characters were up against – all television characters, gay or straight – from primetime, daytime, network and cable…from the beginning of time – Luke and Reid are among some pretty impressive company!

Like VANtober, the first week of March looks to be a big week for Eric Sheffer Stevens (though “Eric” and “March” don’t smush together quite so nicely!)

Mere days after the March 6th return of I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER, Silent House will have it’s official theatrical release – on March 9th.

I just went to check the US release date on IMDb and was stunned (and both thrilled and terrified) to see that a UK release date of May 4th had been announced. The film also has an Irish debut of March 16th listed, a week after the US release. So it looks like Open Road Films is making an investment to make their acquisition a success worldwide and it’s great news for overseas fans hoping to catch Eric on the big screen! Woo hoo!

In the meantime, the official poster has been released…

…and IMDb also lists six reviews and two trailers (both of which will be covered in a later post). This made me curious, so I checked Rottentomatoes.com

The VERY good news so far is that it has an 88% “want to see” user rating (which I would definitely attribute to more than Eric’s diehard fanbase” and the critic reviews are running 4 for 4 fresh. So while there aren’t enough reviews to register a Tomatometer rating, it’s 100% Fresh so far!

How id I miss this one? Thanks to Paris at VanHansis.com for the alert. If you visit www.worldturns.net you will see the following message:

Welcome to WorldTurns.nl The Online Home of "As the World Turns"

For a limited preview period worldturns.nl will be offering free online viewing of select As The World Turns episodes.

Our site begins with the first five episodes that originally aired in January 2005, and each week we will be releasing additional episodes from the series for your enjoyment. In addition, we will also be adding memorable classic episodes from the As The World Turns library which originally aired in the US. Our current classic episode is “Classic ATWT Wedding — Tom Hughes Marries Margo Montgomery” which was originally broadcast on June 1, 1983

Please enjoy these episodes, and be sure to come back soon to see more classic episodes and for access the As The World Turns video library.

I thought that for sure this would be IP restricted to Dutch viewers, but I was very, very, very happy to find that this was not the case, and I was able to register from the UK.

Among the four classic episodes currently featured are the (only, I think) episodes for the US-released DVD collections that feature BOTH Luke and Reid – though not together .

The super-classic episode where Van Hansis’s Luke comes out (from the "Secrets and Scandals” DVD) is featured, along with Bob and Kim’s anniversary party (where Eric Sheffer Stevens’s gate-crashing Reid gets in some great jabs at Chris – “I always knew you were a bastard”…while eating….again!).

I thought the whole “we’re not married” storyline was completely lame, as they basically dropped it after 2-3 episodes. It could have had potential if Bob and Kim had been more frontburner, and really explored their relationship, but oh well. At least we got another Renry moment!

It’s been widely reported that I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHER, will be returning to screens as part of FOX’s spring schedule. The show will be shifting nights from Wednesday to Tuesday, but will continue to benefit from following X FACTOR (even without Paula Abdul), with the comedy RAISING HOPE thrown in the middle.

The first episode of the second half of the season is schedule to air on Tuesday, 6th March at 8.30pm ET (7:30pm CT). Multiple sources confirm that all 13 filmed episodes will air.\

Over the last few days, FOX has released the official episode description along with promotional photos including two featuring Eric Sheffer Stevens (‘bout time! I think I’m experiencing withdrawal symptoms!). The full set of images, including the two below can be found at SpoilerTV.co.uk.

This spring, FOX continues the Tuesday laughs with an all-new block of four half-hour comedies including RAISING HOPE, I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER, NEW GIRL and the Season Two debut of BREAKING IN.

Beginning Tuesday, March 6, the all-new night of laughs kicks off with the time period premiere of RAISING HOPE (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT), followed by the spring return of the family comedy I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT).

From 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT, the Golden Globe-nominated hit series NEW GIRL continues to amuse with brand-new episodes, followed by the Season Two premiere of BREAKING IN (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT), featuring new cast member Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace") shaking up the Contra Security team.

ANNIE AND NIKKI GO BACK TO LA ESCUELA ON AN ALL-NEW "I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER" TUESDAY, MARCH 6, ON FOX

When Sophie tells Annie that she does not care about getting good grades, Annie decides to set an example by taking night classes at the local community college. Nikki joins her in a Spanish class and is surprisingly fluent as she frequently watches telenovelas.

Meanwhile, the dads are in charge of getting the girls to finish an important school project in the all-new "Teenage Escuela" episode of I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER airing Tuesday, March 6 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (TD-108) (TV-PG D, L)

Based on the promo photos, Mark Consuelos is playing Annie and Nikki’s Spanish teacher. And “escuela” (in case you didn’t already know it) means school (pretty obvious after reading the press release).

The end is in sight. A quick look at the spoilers on the RTL site confirms it: the train has come and gone, Carly and Jack are married (again), and the Farewell, ATWT fan event is due to take place this weekend, with the series finale airing on Tuesday, 21st February 2012. And with that, ATWT will cease to be broadcast in Holland.

So, with that in mind, I have sadly taken down the spoiler warning, as there is nothing left to be spoiled. I haven’t had a chance to update in awhile because there has seriously been way too much going on in my personal life, and for that I apologise. But I couldn’t let this momentous occasion go unobserved.

Though I don’t have any new content to offer, I’m going to re-share my “Find My Way Back” fan video, which was created after seeing Martha Byrne and Van Hansis live at last year’s Dutch fan event.

And here’s the caption: Jane (Simon Baker, right) narrows down the list of suspects after a disgraced clothing designer, on the verge of a come back, is murdered. Also pictured are Griffin Matthews (far left), Van Hasis (center) and Riley Voelkel (near left), on THE MENTALIST, Thursday, Feb. 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

So, the good news: Van is not the corpse (which could make for a short-lived role – pun intended). This picture (which doesn’t at all look like Van to me), confirms it:

And more good news: it’s a big enough role to get him featured (and named) in a publicity caption. Woo hoo!

In the meantime, the above photo, plus much of the following information wouldn’t be possible without thanks in advance to the astute tweeter from the fuckyeah Van Hansis! tumblr who thought to ask THE MENTALIST writers for an air date. Thanks also to the folks who posted it at the lure_atwt LiveJournal and to Van’s fan’s who posted it on his Facebook page. And finally, thanks to VanHansis.com who screencapped the twitter conversation . So yeah, basically, I’m the last one to know.

So, rumor has it, that Van will appear on THE MENTALIST on 2nd February 2012 in an episode titled ‘Red Is the New Black.’ I say “leaked” because there’s no official confirmation from the network or the producers, but here’s how word got out:

But then again, we knew that “Van rocks.”

In the meantime, there is widespread confirmation on the internet that the Feb 2nd episode = episode 4×13 = ‘Red is the Next Black.’ There are also reports of this being a “fashion-themed” episode (given the title, that’s not a surprise).

Jane and the CBI narrow down a suspect list as to who killed a disgraced clothing designer on the verge of a comeback. Meanwhile Agent Darcy continues her investigation into finding Red John. Airdate: 2nd February.

More info, including an episode pre-cap, show summary and details on where/how to watch coming up, closer to the air date…